


Your Place or Mine

by Charlie9646



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Christmas, Drabble, During the War, F/M, Fairest of the rare secret Santa Gift Exchange, Kissing, Severus Snape hates Christmas, Smoking, Talking, vague hints at soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:35:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27908341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charlie9646/pseuds/Charlie9646
Summary: A howler from Molly Weasley leads Severus to some rather unexpected results. Maybe Christmas isn’t so bad after all.Or where Tonks finally decides to just spit it out because while Severus Snape is very smart he can also be very dense.
Relationships: Severus Snape/Nymphadora Tonks
Comments: 9
Kudos: 17
Collections: FoTR's 2020 Secret Santa Drabble Exchange





	Your Place or Mine

**Author's Note:**

  * For [meditationsinemergencies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/meditationsinemergencies/gifts).



> Thank you ProphetofTroy for Betaing this and meditationsinemergencies for such good prompts. Merry Christmas.

Severus hated Christmas parties. Well, actually he hated all foolish celebrations, but Christmas ones most of all. Molly had insisted that he come to this, pestering him for days through the Floo with letters; and then for good measure the ruddy woman sent him a howler at breakfast. Minerva couldn’t help but laugh as the thing screeched at him insisting that he was going  _ ‘to be at the Christmas gathering whether he liked it or not!’ _

“I shall be giving you the holiday off then, I assume?” Albus asked.

“Yes,” Severus growled, vanishing the shredded red paper. 

_ ‘Right,'  _ he thought, staring out across the back garden of the burrow. 

_ ‘A day off might have done him some good if he didn’t have to think about the fact he was going to have to kill his mentor. The man who had become his friend after all these years.’ _

So instead of facing the room of bright cheer, he was sitting out here on the back stoop freezing his bloody arse off, watching those stupid garden gnomes who were throwing snow at each other behind a few trees. Severus heard her before he saw her, the sound of her boots crunching against the icy steps.

“Severus,” Tonks said, as she sat down next to him, puffing on a cigarette. “Happy Christmas.”

“Can I have one of those, Tonks?” His fingers itching to get his hands on one. 

“Sure,” she sighed, smiling brightly at him, handing the pack to him and a lighter. “How have you been?” 

“You want the truth?” Severus grumbled and then pulled out a cigarette and lit it. “Or would you prefer lies that make you feel better?”

“That bad, huh?” 

“It’s a long story…” 

“Well, I have the time to listen if you want to tell it,” Tonks remarked, reaching out to take his hand. Her fingers were warm sending shivers up his back and butterflies in his stomach. 

Severus turned away from her and stared out at the now frozen frog pond, “I would rather not.”

“Okay, but you mind if I talk to you maybe then you might change your mind?”

He nodded,  _ ‘What’s the harm in humouring her?’ _

Tonk smiled and traced patterns across the back of his hand absentmindedly, he didn’t pull away even though he knew no good would come of this. “Did you know my mum pushed me to become a professor and not an Auror?”

“That would be a safer  _ profession _ ...If Dumbledore wasn’t the Headmaster.” 

“You don’t like him, do you?” She asked.

“I am not answering that,” Severus laughed. “My situation with the man is quite complicated, to put it bluntly.”

“The man is complicated and I can’t even begin to imagine your situation with all of this. We keep you at arm's length. You're one of us, but not really one of us,” her cheeks turned bright pink, her hand covering her mouth. “I am sorry I didn’t mean that.” 

“It’s the truth though,” he deadpanned. “And I prefer your honesty.”

“You're not as bitter as you are normally,” she chuckled. 

_ ’Why was he drawn to this woman? If felt like being tugged by his heartstrings to her.’ _

“I guess I should take that as a compliment,” Severus said and stood up. “I should be going, though. I think I have stayed just long enough to not get another howler from Molly, and I am sure that you would rather spend the rest of the evening with Lupin.”

Tonks’ brown eyebrows shot up into her hairline. “Remus and I are just friends, Severus...He’s more likely to be interested in you than he is in me. He’s gay, it’s a rather long story, and honestly, it’s not mine to tell.”

“I...People can swing both ways and you might be rather surprised on who does.”

“Are you speaking from experience?” She questioned, standing up as she did so, reaching out for him once more. “Or in theory?”

“Does it matter?” Severus asked, fighting the urge to tug at his own hair and ashed out his cigarette with his boot.

“For someone so smart, Severus Snape, sometimes you are so bloody dense.” Tonks rocked up on her toes and kissed him. For a second he was just as frozen as the snow around them, but then it was like a light switch had been flipped. He pulled her closer, his hands tangling into her hair. For once in a very long time, he felt truly alive and he didn’t want this to end, at least not yet.

“Your place or mine?” He said, pulling away.

“Yours,” she whispered, pulling him down for another kiss. 

Not everything had to last forever, even if Severus wished it could. Sometimes it was nice to not have to think about anything at all. 


End file.
